Adventures at Cyprus Rhodes
by jessec12
Summary: Starts about a month after the season 3 finale. Many of the Greek gang, including those graduating, are staying at CRU this summer. Find out what crazy adventures they'll encounter. Multiple characters, will eventually be C/C, with other pairings.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Greek. The only things I own are some original characters that will come up later in the story.

"Ugh, I thought I threw this stuff out a long time ago," Ashleigh said as she entered her and Casey's room with a large box.

Casey was in the room leafing through another box. "What's in it?" she asked.

"It's all the stuff Travis gave me during our relationship," Ashleigh replied. "I must've just tossed it in a box and forgot I left it in the storage room." Ashleigh, Casey, and the rest of the ZBZ graduating seniors were removing all of the things they'd left in the house storage room over the past three years. Graduation was in about two weeks; this week was the last week of classes and next week senior week.

"Come with me to the KT house in a bit," Casey said. "Rusty said we could throw some stuff into their dumpster since we don't have one; I've got a similar box of stuff from Evan that needs to go."

"Sure," Ashleigh replied. "I've had enough cleaning for now. Let's drop the stuff off and then go get some ice cream, what do you say?"

"Sounds great," Casey said. "I need a break. Rusty's gonna text me when you-know-who leaves for class, then we'll go."

Ashleigh nodded in understanding. Casey and Cappie hadn't spoken since their spring break break-up about a month ago, and with Rusty's help they'd been able to avoid each other since then. Neither knew just exactly what to say to the other, and Rusty became their go-between to make sure their paths didn't cross.

Fifteen minutes later, Casey received the word that Cappie had left the building, so Casey and Ashleigh set off for the KT house, each with the box of stuff from their respective exes.

"Hey guys," Rusty greeted Casey and Ashleigh as they came out to the backyard of the Kappa Tau house. He was sitting outside studying for a chemistry final coming up this week.

"Hey Russ," they replied. Casey and Ashleigh each heaved their box into the KT dumpster, and then turned back to Rusty.

"Wow, you're actually here…by yourself…alone…without your girlfriend," Casey said to him. Lately it seemed to her that Rusty was always with Dana; she felt like she barely saw him.

"Yeah, about that," Rusty replied. "I wanted to get you guys' advice about something."

"Want to take a study break, get some ice cream with us and talk?" Ashleigh asked.

"Sure," Rusty replied, closing his textbook. The three left the KT backyard and began walking down Greek Row.

"So where is Dana today anyway?" Casey asked Rusty.

"She has her interview for the summer research program me, her, and Dale want to do this summer," Rusty replied. The program would involve them staying on campus over the summer and doing science research, sort of like an internship.

"Oh yeah, you had yours already, right?" Casey asked.

"Yep, three days ago; she's one of the last interviews and we're supposed to hear back by the end of this week if we're accepted," Rusty replied. "Anyway, what I wanted to ask is do you think Dana seems a bit…well…clingy at times?"

"Is she clingy?" Ashleigh scoffed. "Well, let's review the past month shall we? One, we've barely seen you without her since spring break. Two, she texts you at three in the morning almost every day saying she's bored and has insomnia. Three, she flipped when you told her she couldn't go with you to the all-Greek senior goodbye party because non-Greeks couldn't come. And four, remember the rant she went on when you told her, she acted like it was prejudiced that non-Greeks couldn't come. At first, I was all for your love story and you guys getting together, but now, seriously I'm not so sure."

"Yeah I think I agree with Ash, Russ," Casey said. "Does she actually have any other friends besides you?"

"Dale," Rusty replied. "But she only really hangs with him when she's with me. The only other friend she talks about and I've met is Hannah, this girl who lives across the hall from her and is also a polymer science major. And she doesn't hang out with her much, either. Do you think you guys could get her as a Zeta Beta pledge for next year or something? She needs some way to make some more friends."

"You'll have to take that up with Bex," Casey replied. Rebecca Logan ended up as the new president of Zeta Beta Zeta for next year. "But a sorority doesn't sound like it'd be Dana's type of thing. No offense, but I can't see her fitting in well at ZBZ."

"Yeah you're probably right," Rusty replied. "I like her, it's just I have a life too. I'm in KT, I have friends there, some who are graduating and I want to hang out with them before they leave, and you guys too. So what should I do?"

"Well I'm guessing she's probably coming with you to the end of the year KT party, right?" Ashleigh asked.

"Yeah, she wants to," Rusty replied. "But like I said, I'd just like to hang out with my friends that night but I don't want to hurt her feelings."

"Ask her if she'd be willing to be sober sister for ZBZ," Ashleigh replied. "No one else wants to do it and even though she's not a ZBZ it's fine. Dale's done it a couple times but even he won't do it for the end of the year party. I'm trying to find someone willing to do it before I use presidential power and force it on a new active. And she'd sure make some friends then!"

"That's actually not a bad idea, Ash," Casey said. "Like you said, no one at the house wants to do it, and it would make her so busy she'd have no time to hang out with you, Russ."

"Okay sure, I guess I can work with that for starters," Rusty said, as the three of them arrived at the ice cream stand. "I'll talk to her tonight."

"Rusty!" a voice called from down the sidewalk. Rusty, Casey, and Ashleigh turned to see Dana running down the sidewalk toward them. Casey and Ashleigh rolled their eyes and went to find a table to eat their ice cream.

"Or I'll talk to her now," Rusty said.

A/N: Review, please. I'm excited about this and am writing where it takes me. I'm not revealing too many details yet because one, even though I have a general idea of where this is going, I'm not 100% sure, and two, I don't want to say too much. I'm a college student off for the summer, I love Greek, and I dreamed this up on my day off work today! Probably will be another chapter up tonight or tomorrow, since I'm off again tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 1

"Hey Dana, how was the interview?" Rusty asked when she reached him.

"Great," she replied enthusiastically. "Professor Hastings said we should know by Friday if we're in. I can't wait! I hope we both get in. We'll get to be together all summer, it's gonna be so awesome!"

"Of course, I really want this too," Rusty said. "It's internship credit and it'll be fun. Plus a lot of my friends and my sister will be on campus this summer, so I want to stay."

"Yeah, I don't want to go home either," Dana said. "Not really anyone from high school I care to see; I can go home to see my family for the 4th of July, other than that I'd rather be here, with you!" Apparently she didn't seem to have any friends at home, either.

"Dana, can I ask you something, a favor actually?" Rusty asked. "Actually, it's more of a favor for a friend, but kind of for me too."

"Sure, shoot," Dana said. The two got ice cream and now were sitting at a table.

"First off, how are you with dealing with drunk people?" Rusty asked. "Like, have you ever had to take care of them?"

Dana gave him a look as if he'd grown a second head and wondered where on earth that question came from, but she proceeded to answer him anyway, "Well, in high school my older sister would always come home from parties drunk. As soon as I got my driver's license, she went wild because she knew I'd be able to pick her up and not tell Mom and Dad. So for her entire senior year of high school I managed picking her up, looking after her, and not letting Mom and Dad find out about her drinking."

"Sounds good enough," Rusty replied. "The reason I asked is Ashleigh is looking for someone to help out as sober sister at the KT party this weekend. She wanted me to ask around, and well, you're the first person I've seen since she talked to me about it, so would you be interested?" Rusty had to lie on his last statement, well it was sort of true; Ashleigh did ask him about finding someone, and Dana was the first person he saw since talking to her.

"I don't know," Dana said hesitantly. "I was hoping I'd just get to be with you at the party."

"Well, yeah, I want to be with you too, but the guys at the house are gonna need my help with stuff, too" Rusty said, again kind of telling the truth and yet kind of lying. "What if we run out of beer or something? The pledges technically are not pledges anymore; they're new actives, and we don't have a new pledge class till next year's Rush. So the entire house has to help out." Really, most of the work is in fact thrown on the "post-pledges," but the others would still have to pitch in, too.

"Well, if you must help, I guess I don't mind helping out your friend," Dana finally replied. "But how is this kind of a favor for you?"

"Uh," Rusty said and thought quickly. "You know I like helping out my friends, so a favor for them is a favor for me! That's all. Ashleigh can enjoy the last KT party of her college career knowing her drunk sisters are in good hands. C'mon, let's go sit with Casey and Ashleigh and tell them." Rusty grabbed her hand and pulled her over to Casey and Ashleigh's table.

"Ash, you've got yourself a sober sister," Rusty said as him and Dana sat down.

"You'll do it?" Ashleigh asked Dana excitedly.

"Sure, since Rusty's gotta help out with the house and all, I figured why not," Dana said. "If I can deal with my older sister's drunken antics, I can handle this."

"Yay, thank you so much!" Ashleigh replied. "Abby's gonna be happy I'm not making her do it." The four finished their ice cream, then Rusty and Dana headed to Rusty's apartment and Casey and Ashleigh back to ZBZ.

"Abby was the new active you were going to make sober sister?" Casey asked Ashleigh as they walked back down Greek Row.

"Yeah, it was Bex's idea actually," Ashleigh said.

"Bex really does not want that girl to move into the house next year," Casey said. "She's been doing everything to try to get her not to come to the room pick meeting tomorrow."

"Speaking of the room pick meeting, guess who's getting our room, and all to herself, next year?" Ashleigh asked.

"Bex?" Casey asked, and Ashleigh nodded. "Seriously, how can she do that, even if she's president that room's still supposed to be a double."

"Well, the president gets first pick, and as long as there's space for all the other girls, which there definitely will be, she won't have to share her room," Ashleigh replied, as they arrived back at ZBZ.

"Spitter, thanks for showing up to the meeting without your girlfriend," Cappie said as Rusty entered the KT house.

"Meeting?" Rusty asked, confused. "What are you talking about; the end of year meeting isn't until tomorrow. I'm just here because I forgot my textbook out back earlier. And I figured I'd hang out and get a little more studying done."

"I'm just kidding, there's no meeting today," Cappie said with a laugh. "But seriously, Spitter, you've gotta tell your girlfriend she's not coming to the meeting tomorrow. I don't mind letting the brothers' girls come every once in a while, but not to the end of the year meeting, and not after a brother's girl has come to the last 3 meetings in a row."

"I know, I keep telling her not to come but for some strange reason she wants to," Rusty said. "But don't worry; I won't let her come tomorrow. She's been really clingy and it's starting to get on my nerves. I like her, but she needs to get out there and make some more friends."

"You're right about that one, no offense," Cappie said. "And she needs to stop showing up here looking for you during naptime. The other brothers are getting a little pissed off."

"Guess I should talk to her about that too, sorry," Rusty replied. "Oh, and Ashleigh found a way to keep her busy during the party on Friday."

"Good, because this is the end of the year party, the house needs all the brothers' help," Cappie said. "What's she doing, by the way?"

"She's going to be the sober sister for Zeta Beta," Rusty said.

"Wow, this should be good," Cappie said with a laugh. "How'd you talk her into that one?"

"I pretty much said what you told me," Rusty replied. "That I'd need to help out and wouldn't be able to hang out with her all night, so she said she'd do it."

Before Cappie could reply, Beaver entered the house, "Hey Cap, Spitter, guess what?"

"What's up?" Rusty asked.

"I got an apartment in Cyprus for next year," Beaver replied. His parents were forcing him to graduate on time, but he still wanted to remain in Cyprus and get a job.

"That's awesome, Beav," Cappie said. "Have a roommate?"

"Yeah, but I don't know him yet," Beaver said. "It's some dude who goes to school here, that's all I know."

"What about a job?" Rusty asked. "Found one yet?"

"Still working on that one, Spitter," Beaver said. "I'll probably see about a summer bartending job at Dobler's to start with."

"Hey I can hook you up with one of those," Cappie said. "You know that's what I've done for the past three summers, and I'm working there again this summer. They always need summer bartenders. What do you say we head down there now? And not just to look for a job, if you know what I mean."

"Sure, let's go!" Beaver said.

"What do you say, Spitter?" Cappie asked Rusty. "Want a summer job too?"

"Bartending? Me?" Rusty asked hesitantly. "I don't know, do you really think it'd be my kind of work? Plus I'm still waiting to hear back about that internship."

"You could totally pull it off," Beaver said. "You've been a Kappa Tau for two years, ya know."

"Plus your internship isn't paid and won't take up all your time, you'll get to work with us, and you can basically pick up whatever hours you can," Cappie said.

"Sure, why not I guess," Rusty said. "I can use the extra money." The three set off for Dobler's looking for work as well as an afternoon beer.

A/N: That's chapter 1, which is actually kind of an extension to the prologue. I'm just trying to introduce the story and what the characters are doing for the summer, and introduce next year a bit. Review, please. May be another one later today, as I'm staying inside writing this because it's waaay too hot outside.  
Thanks for the last review, jessie09. And I plan on clearing up the CC thing and how Rusty got pulled in the middle in future chapters.


	3. Chapter 2

"You're going to be a bartender at Dobler's?" Dale asked Rusty. Rusty, Dale, Calvin, and Dana were in Rusty and Dale's apartment the next morning having breakfast.

"Yep," Rusty replied. "Cap's been one of their best summer employees, so when he recommended me and Beaver to Mark, the boss, we were hired right away. I have to train next week before most of the grad student workers leave."

"I'm still not so sure it's a good idea," Dale said. "This research program is a big deal; being a bartender sounds like a major distraction."

"Hey, a paying job's a paying job in this economy," Calvin spoke up. "I'm sure Russ will be fine, he's handled being a Kappa Tau and polymer science major for the past two years. If I didn't get that paid internship back home, I'd be all for getting some kind of job here."

Calvin, the new president of Omega Chi for next year, was one of Rusty's friends who would not be staying at CRU over the summer. He'd gotten a great paid internship in his hometown, and also he'd have to attend his little sister's graduation and the events leading up to it with his family. His little sister, Savannah Owens, would also be starting at CRU in the fall.

"Yeah, I can totally handle it," Rusty said. "Plus, aren't you still doing your hasher job at ZBZ for the summer, Dale?"

"Yeah, Rebecca Logan asked me to since Ashleigh told her I was staying over the summer," Dale said. "I'm not so sure I want to work for Rebecca, I still can't believe she's the new president, but it's money, I guess you're right about a paying job."

"Is Dobler's still hiring?" Dana spoke. "I told my mom last night I'm staying here this summer, and she's making me get a job."

"I don't know, you'd have to ask Mark," Rusty replied, who really couldn't see Dana as a bartender. Rusty being one might have been slightly far-fetched, but he was a Kappa Tau after all so he could do it. Rusty just could not see Dana fitting in very well as a Dobler's worker.

"I kind of see you as more of a waitress than a bartender," Calvin told Dana, as if he'd read Rusty's mind. "Pretty much every restaurant around campus is looking for summer workers, if I were you that's what I'd do."

"I waitressed back home," Dana said. "Rusty, want to come job hunting with me then study some more for that horrendous chem final?"

"Sure, why not," Rusty said and him and Dana put their plates in the sink and got ready to leave.

"Text me when you guys are actually studying," Dale called out to them. "I need to study too."

"Okay, will do, see you guys later," Rusty said and him and Dana left.

"Ash, I don't feel so well," Casey said from her bed that morning. "I seriously feel like I'm going to puke." Ashleigh was already awake and on her computer.

"Uh oh," Ashleigh replied. "I hope you don't have that stomach flu that Laura had last week."

"I think I do," Casey said as she sprang out of bed and ran for the bathroom.

"Case, are you OK?" Ashleigh asked, following after her to the bathroom a moment later.

"Yeah, I actually feel a bit better now," Casey replied. "Must've been something I ate yesterday." Casey went back to the room to get dressed and then she and Ashleigh went downstairs for breakfast.

"I got an e-mail from the admissions office this morning," Ashleigh said to Casey as they sat down for breakfast. "They want me to start giving tours the day after graduation. Tell me again what possessed me to take this job again this summer."

"Because you don't leave for New York until late August, you're broke, and you wanted to stay here to hang out with me," Casey said with a smile.

"Oh yeah," Ashleigh laughed. "I guess a paying job's a paying job. Speaking of paying jobs, excited about yours?" Casey wouldn't be leaving for law school until late August, either, so she was staying at CRU over the summer and working at a local campaign office.

"Yeah, I'm really looking forward to it," Casey said. "I'm hoping it's better than last summer's internship." Casey and Ashleigh continued eating and chatting, until Casey suddenly felt sick again, and ran to the bathroom just as she did earlier.

"What's going on with her?" Rebecca asked as she joined Ashleigh at the table just as Casey ran out.

"I think she's got some kind of stomach flu or something," Ashleigh said. "That's the second time this morning she's ran to the bathroom." Casey came back into the room a few minutes later.

"Kay, I think I'm good now," she said, sitting back down. "But just to be safe I'm not eating anymore right now. Hey, Bex."

"Hey Case," Rebecca said. "Guess what guys, it turns out you're not going to have to turn over your room to me for the summer after all!"

"Not that we were going to give it to you until August, anyway," Ashleigh said with a laugh. "But why?"

"I'm not staying here this summer like I planned," Rebecca said. "Evan's moving to Boston right after graduation since he got into Harvard Law School, and I'm spending the summer there with him. He's moving out early to look for a job there."

"That's great, Bex," Ashleigh said. "I'm really happy you guys worked things out."

"Agreed," Casey said with a smile. "So Bex, you ready for your first official duty as president?" Ashleigh was still technically the president through the end of this year, but when it came to stuff for next year, like room picks, Rebecca was now in charge.

"Getting all of our post-pledges into rooms for next year?" Rebecca asked. "Let's just say next year I'm hoping for a more…um…normal pledge class."

"Well without Frannie and the IKI drama next year's Rush should hopefully turn out better," Casey said.

"Post-pledges Cue Ball, Anthony Hopkins, and Dump Truck, you're gonna have to triple up," Cappie announced at the Kappa Tau room pick meeting, going on that same afternoon.

As the case was last year, many of the good rooms were taken by the upperclassmen, so many of the new actives had to group up and share tiny rooms. Rusty lucked out and got a single room in the house, since all the officers got to pick first. Since he was pledge educator, he had to move into the house next year because there was space available. Dale found a new apartment for next year earlier this week, with a roommate he still has yet to meet. All he knew was that it was some recent graduate that would be sticking around Cyprus to work.

Back at ZBZ, Rebecca was preparing to host ZBZ's meeting, and Casey and Ashleigh, who did not have to attend the meeting since they wouldn't be there next year, were just hanging out in their room. Casey checked her e-mail to find a message from Linda, her new boss at the campaign office she'd be working at. Linda said she'd like Casey to start working the Tuesday after graduation. Casey went over to her calendar to make a note of that, and after glancing at some dates on it, she noticed something.

"Oh my God," Casey gasped, standing up with her hand on her chest.

"What's wrong, Case?" Ashleigh asked from her bed. "You look like Rusty about to have an asthma attack."

"Well I think I might have one right about now," Casey said. "I just looked at my calendar and realized I was supposed to start my period over two weeks ago."

"Oh my God," Ashleigh said, shocked. "Do you think you could be, you know…? I mean, it would explain your sickness this morning, too."

"Oh my God," Casey repeated. "I can't be pregnant, I just can't!" Just then, someone knocked on their door. Casey and Ashleigh both stood still for a minute, shocked, and nervous about just who could be at the door and who might have overheard their conversation. Ashleigh finally pulled out of her daze first and opened the door.

"Rusty, Dana, hi!" Ashleigh said with a smile, trying to cover up what had just been discussed in the room.

Rusty came inside and walked right over to Casey. "Pregnant?" he demanded. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"Rusty, who the hell let you two in here?" Casey rounded on him, finally waking up from her daze. Of all people who had to overhear this, she thought. At least the rest of the ZBZ sisters were downstairs at the meeting, and the other seniors were out.

"Some overenthusiastic new active," Rusty replied. "We came by because I wanted to tell you about the new job I got for summer, but…um…," he trailed off.

"Uh, that's great Russ," Casey said quickly. "Um, I gotta go!" Casey quickly grabbed Ashleigh before she could say anything and pulled her out the door.

"Just so you know, we're talking later!" Rusty called after her as they ran out.

A/N: I was originally going to make this chapter longer, but I'm making the second part another chapter because I wanted to get this one posted. Not sure exactly when I'll have another one, because I work the next 3 days, but it'll be soon! I'm really enjoying writing this so far and it's been a great way to spend 3 insanely hot days off. Review please!


	4. Chapter 3

A/N: so sorry I haven't updated this in a while! I had work then I was out of town for a week, but I'm back and here's another chapter for you now.

"Case, do you want me to drive you to the store?" Ashleigh asked Casey as they ran out of the ZBZ house. Casey just nodded and they headed toward Ashleigh's car.

"Can we go to the Super Wal-Mart on the other side of Cyprus?" Casey asked, finally finding her voice again as they got into Ashleigh's car. "Less likely to see someone from school there."

"Yeah of course," Ashleigh replied, starting her car and pulling out of the ZBZ parking lot. Casey was silent for a few minutes, and Ashleigh spoke again as she pulled up to a red light. "Do you want to talk about anything? I'm here for you, you know that."

"Thanks, Ash, that means a lot," Casey replied with a small smile. "I just have no idea what I'm going to do if I actually am, you know…"

"Pregnant," Ashleigh finished.

"Yeah," Casey said. "At this point I don't know if I am and I hope I'm not because this was so not part of my plan. I mean yeah I wanted kids but not until I was like, thirty or something, and what about law school, and oh my gosh…"

"Case, take a breather," Ashleigh said sympathetically. "Like you said, you don't know if you are pregnant and you may not be; it may have been Laura's stomach flu. Let's just take this one step at a time and try not to freak out, okay. I'm taking you to buy tests now and we'll go from there."

Ashleigh pulled into the Wal-Mart parking lot a few minutes later, and she had to practically drag Casey out of the car and into the store's pharmacy section to where the pregnancy tests were. Casey studied the selection for a moment, unsure which one she should buy.

"Can I help you find anything?" a cheery sales associate asked as she approached Casey and Ashleigh with a smile. She was a middle-aged lady, and Casey read her nametag and saw her name was Jane.

At first Casey didn't say anything, but then she thought that maybe the nice lady could help her. She sure had no idea which one to buy. "Um, I need one of those," Casey said shyly as she pointed to the line of pregnancy tests.

"I figured, I saw you looking at them for a few minutes, and you looked young and I thought you might need some help," Jane replied. "I would get two or three and take them at the same time, and here's a few of the best ones." Jane grabbed a few tests from the shelf and handed them to Casey.

"Thanks," Casey replied with a small smile.

"You're welcome," Jane said. "Come on, I can ring you up." She led them over to the checkout and scanned the tests.

"You know, I was eighteen when I had my son," Jane said, seeing Casey's situation. "I was all set on going to college at Yale, but I rejected my admission so I could take care of him. I was devastated at the time, because it was my lifelong dream to go to Yale, but in the end having my son was the best thing that ever happened to me. You may think now that this is the end of your world, but trust me, it's not. Things will work themselves out for the better in the end. Just be patient, and keep good friends like this by your side," she nodded at Ashleigh with a smile.

"Thanks for the advice," Casey said kindly. "I want to go to law school, but depending on the results of these," she gestured to the bag of tests, "that may not happen just yet."

"I wish you the best of luck," Jane said with a smile, and Casey and Ashleigh began walking out to the car.

"She was nice," Ashleigh said.

"Yeah, but I'm not so sure I could follow in her footsteps," Casey said. "I don't know if I'm ready to give up my career plans when I'm just now getting them figured out."

"I believe everything Jane said, Case," Ashleigh said. "Things will work out, one way or another, and I'll be there with you every step of the way."

"Thanks again, Ash," Casey said as Ashleigh began pulling out of the parking lot. "Wait, I can't go back to the house to take these. The meeting's probably over by now, meaning that all the new actives are still there eating food and checking out their new rooms."

"Right, taking pregnancy tests in a house full of gossiping sorority girls might not be such a good idea," Ashleigh agreed. "How about going back into the bathroom in the store?"

"Ew no, Wal-Mart bathrooms are disgusting," Casey said. "Wait, I still have my spare key to Rusty's apartment. He and Dale are probably at that huge chemistry review session by now, let's go there and we'll be done before they even get back."

"I thought we said we weren't breaking into anymore people's houses after the Gamma Psi incident," Ashleigh said.

"Yeah, but technically my name's still on the lease so it isn't really breaking in," Casey said. "Plus, we can make exceptions in the case of an emergency, and I think I can call this somewhat of an emergency."

"Okay, I suppose it'll be acceptable then," Ashleigh said. She quickly changed lanes and made the turn toward the apartment. Once Casey and Ashleigh got there, they walked up the stairs and Casey let them in with her spare key. "You were right, Case, no one's here and this won't take long. I'll wait for you out here, yell if you need me."

"Thanks, Ash," Casey said and began walking toward the bathroom with the bag of tests, but was immediately startled when someone walked out of one of the bedrooms.

"Rusty!" Casey shouted, shocked. "What are you doing?"

"Um, laundry," Rusty replied, equally surprised to see Casey and Ashleigh had appeared in his apartment, and holding up the pile of dirty clothes in his hand. "And I live here. I think the question is what are you doing and how did you get in here. You usually knock."

"I thought you wouldn't be here," Casey replied, as Ashleigh joined them from her seat on the couch. "Aren't you supposed to be at the review session?"

"Professor Hastings got stuck in bad traffic coming back from Columbus so it's pushed back two hours," Rusty replied. "But that's beside the point. What's going on?" He sat his load of laundry down on the floor and waited for her response.

"Is anyone else here?" Casey asked.

"No, Dale's still at ZBZ helping with food for the meeting and Dana's at a job interview," Rusty said.

"Well, you obviously overheard my little situation back at ZBZ," Casey began.

"So, is it true?" Rusty demanded.

"I don't know, that's why we came here," Casey said. "The ZBZ house is full of gossiping girls right now…"

"So you decided to break into my apartment when I was supposedly not here to take pregnancy tests," Rusty interrupted.

"Uh, yeah I guess that was kind of the plan," Casey said. "So, can I use your bathroom?"

"Well you're already here so yeah I guess," Rusty said. "I'll be right back; I'm going to put these clothes in the washer."

"Geez, who pissed him off," Casey said after he left, regarding his less than pleasant tone. "Wait, I guess that would be me."

"I think he's more worried for you than pissed," Ashleigh said to Casey as Casey began reading the instructions on the back of one of the test boxes. "This is a kid who's had his life plan set in stone since diapers and would hate to see you lose yours. Not that you're going to, it's just the thought of it."

A few minutes later, Casey had taken all three of the tests and now had to wait for the results. She and Ashleigh sat on the couch in the living room. Rusty came back from doing laundry and was sitting in a nearby armchair. Ashleigh broke the slightly awkward silence when she spoke.

"So Rusty, what were you saying about a summer job earlier?" she asked.

"Oh yeah, I got a job at Dobler's," Rusty said.

Casey looked up and gave him a quizzical look, "You, a bartender at Dobler's?" she asked. "No offense, but that doesn't really sound like your kind of thing. How'd you get hired there, anyway?"

"I've been in KT for two years, by now I can handle just about anything," Rusty said. "I get a week's worth of training, plus it's extra money, which I need because the savings account I've had since I was four is slowly becoming no more, thanks to tuition. And I got the job through a friend." Without saying who, Casey and Ashleigh could both figure out which friend got him the job.

"Are you working during senior week next week?" Ashleigh asked.

"Yep, that's when I'm getting trained," Rusty said. "And before you ask, I know where this is headed. I'll just be a trainee, so I can't give you a friend of an employee discount yet," Rusty joked.

"Aw, darn it," Ashleigh said with a laugh. "Later this summer though, when you're a professional, you totally owe me some free drinks!"

"Ha, we'll see about that," Rusty laughed. A minute or so passed, and it was back to the subject matter at hand, the pregnancy tests.

"I think it's time, Case," Ashleigh said. Casey disappeared into the bathroom and came back out about a minute later. Rusty and Ashleigh both looked at her waiting for her to speak.

"I think I need to call my doctor," Casey said. "They're all positive."

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, everyone! I plan on working on another chapter tomorrow before I possibly go back to work Wednesday.


	5. Chapter 4

"You're seriously pregnant?" Rusty demanded. "I can't believe you let this happen!"

"What do you mean, let it happen?" Casey questioned. "It's not like I planned this."

"But it doesn't sound like you were careful, either," Rusty said. "I can't believe you learned nothing after what happened to Angela."

"Oh, is that what this is about?" Casey asked sympathetically.

"Whatever, it's not like you ever cared, anyway," Rusty replied. "I've got to go." He grabbed his backpack and left the apartment in a hurry, leaving Casey standing there, looking hurt, and Ashleigh wondering what just happened.

"Oh my God, he thinks the same thing that happened to her is going to happen to me," Casey said, more to herself than to Ashleigh.

"Case?" Ashleigh interrupted her thoughts with concern. "What happened? Who's Angela, was she like a high school girlfriend of Rusty's or something?"

"God, no," Casey said. "I'll tell you what happened, but you can't tell anyone."

"You know I wouldn't," Ashleigh said.

"Angela was our cousin," Casey began. "And Rusty's best friend since forever. They were born two days apart. When they started kindergarten, they acquired a third member of their group, Tim, and the three of them were best friends through elementary school. When they were in seventh grade, Tim and Angela started dating, yet the three of them still hung out all the time and they never made Rusty feel like a third wheel. In ninth grade, Tim and Angela were still dating, and about Christmastime that year, Angela found out she was pregnant. Angela's parents, my aunt and uncle, are very conservative and against pregnancy outside of marriage, so they kicked her out of the house. Although my parents didn't like the idea at first, they let Angela live with us since she was family and close to Rusty. Angela was stressed a lot during her pregnancy, between school, finding a job, and continued conflicts with her parents. Also, when she was about seven months along, our grandmother passed away from cancer. A few days after the funeral, Angela woke up in the middle of the night with stomach pains so bad she couldn't get out of bed. We rushed her to the hospital where they found she had major internal bleeding. They couldn't save the baby, yet they were still trying to save her. They tried their best, but about two hours later, she died. This was about five years ago, the summer after Rusty's freshman year and my junior year."

"Oh, Case," Ashleigh said and wrapped her arms around Casey. "I am so sorry this happened to you and Rusty."

"He was devastated," Casey continued. "I wasn't as close to Angela as Rusty was, but she was still my little cousin and I was sad. And after she died, Rusty got in a huge fight with Tim. He blamed Tim for getting her pregnant and doing this to her; eventually, Tim couldn't take the pressure and guilt of the situation and he dropped out of school and left town, and he and Rusty haven't spoken since. Rusty lost his two best friends in less than a week, and looking back, I feel like such a horrible person because I wasn't there."

"Case, everyone deals with grief in their own ways," Ashleigh said. "You are not a horrible person."

"Yes I was," Casey cried. "For months, I had planned to spend the week with one of my old friends from camp, and the week I was supposed to go just happened to be starting the day after Angela died. Mom and Dad weren't going to say I couldn't go, but they strongly encouraged me to stay home. At first I was going to stay, but after that day I couldn't handle everything going on, so I snuck off in the night and caught a bus to meet my friend. When I got home a week later, things had calmed down slightly, however Rusty gave me total hell about leaving and never forgave me. That's why our relationship sucked throughout the rest of high school and my first two years of college. We had our separate lives-I was out with my friends and since Angela died, he watched old television shows with Mom and Dad. We had an okay relationship when we were younger, but not after this."

"How did he end up moving past everything?" Ashleigh asked.

"I think it mostly was time," Casey said. "Part of the reason he wanted to come to Cyprus, join a fraternity and get involved was to make a fresh start and try to forget everything at home. Then, I wasn't so sure it was a good idea, but now, I see it was exactly what he needed. He never officially forgave me, but we got a lot closer so I assumed it was implied. He hasn't talked about her at all since he came to Cyprus until now, and I'm afraid my situation brought up bad memories."

"I think you two should talk about this," Ashleigh said. "You both dealt with your cousin's situation differently, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. When my grandpa died in middle school, I wanted nothing more than to get away, although I was too young to actually go anywhere by myself. What happened to her is not going to happen to you; if you tell your doctor this happened to a family member, he will keep an extra eye on how you're coming along. You need to tell Rusty what you told me about what was going through your head at the time, and make sure he's forgiven you for the situation, in order to move forward at this point. But now, I think we should get out of his apartment."

"You're right, Ash," Casey said. "Thanks for listening. And yeah, let's head back to ZBZ, maybe some of the girls are gone by now. I'll make my doctor's appointment on the way."

After Rusty left his apartment, he walked down the street kind of zoned out. He couldn't believe Casey got herself into this situation. He was angry that she seemed to learn nothing about being careful from Angela's situation; however, he was more concerned for her than mad at her. He did not want to see the same thing happen to her that happened to his cousin. He knew how stressed Casey had been all year about her post-graduation plans. Now add a baby to the mix and talk about stress overload. He kept walking and somehow ended up at the Kappa Tau house instead of his chemistry review session that was supposed to start in a half hour. He walked in the house to find Cappie on the couch, reading the latest book that would be discussed at his and Dale's next book club meeting.

"Spitter, how goes it?" Cappie greeted him.

"How did I get here?" Rusty asked himself out loud, in a daze.

"Well I'm assuming you walked," Cappie replied, confused. "Unless you've grown wings in the past few hours, and if that's the case, I'd say you flew here."

"Sorry, just got a lot on my mind," Rusty replied. "And I'm supposed to be at this chem review soon. I really don't know how I ended up here; I must have been zoned out."

"That's not like you, Spitter," Cappie said, coming over to Rusty and putting his arm around his shoulders. "Your feet, or your wings, led you here without your brain knowing, which means subconsciously there's something you want to talk about, but consciously you may not want to."

"Yeah, that's exactly it," Rusty replied, slightly shocked to hear that from Cappie.

"I knew it, I was a psych major for a few weeks," Cappie said. "But in all seriousness, Rus, you look like something's really bothering you. You know you can talk to me about it, I won't tell anyone."

"Yeah, I know you wouldn't, and thanks, but I can't right now," Rusty replied. "It's a long, sad story I'd really rather not get into right before a chemistry cram session. Let's just say something happened in my family years ago, I thought I had gotten over it, but a recent event is bringing back bad memories of that situation. I better get going, though, chemistry awaits."

"Okay, but talk to me later," Cappie replied. "You've got me worried now."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," Rusty said. "And I promise I'll tell you about it another time." Cappie watched Rusty as he walked out the door and couldn't help but feel extremely concerned for his little brother. Normally when Rusty came to him with a problem, it was something along the lines of an academic issue, a girlfriend problem, roommate troubles with Dale, or something else that stayed inside the boundaries of CRU. Rusty hardly ever talked about his family or his home life, except for Casey and sometimes his parents. So when Rusty said it was a family issue, it sparked Cappie's concern, and he couldn't help but wonder if it somehow involved Casey, even if they haven't spoken in over a month. Casey spoke even less about the Cartwright family to Cappie when the two were dating, so Cappie was completely clueless about who made up the extended Cartwright clan. Was crazy Uncle Joe a mass murderer? Was Aunt Glenda a stripper? Questions filled Cappie's mind as he sighed and went back to his book.

"Thank you for getting me in so soon, Dr. Lawrence," Casey said as she and Ashleigh entered the doctor's office a few hours later.

"It's no problem, Casey," Dr. Lawrence replied with a smile. "I'm a campus doctor, so I've dealt with your situation a number of times. I know what must be going through your head and you just want to know for sure."

"I'm not sure if I want to know or not," Casey said. "But I know I have to, in order to decide what's next." Dr. Lawrence did a checkup on Casey, and she spoke a minute later.

"You're definitely pregnant, I'm sorry to say," Dr. Lawrence said. "About six weeks along, your projected due date is December 20."

"Wow," Casey said, letting the doctor's words sink in. "That's five days before Christmas," she blurted out, not knowing what else to say.

"Yes, you'll have quite the Christmas present this year, dear," Dr. Lawrence said. "Assuming you're planning on going through with the pregnancy?"

"As much as I hate this is happening with me, I have to go through with it," Casey said. "I promised myself I would never have an abortion."

"I'm glad to hear that," Dr. Lawrence said with a smile. "You seem like the type of person who will handle this very maturely, even if it was unexpected. Do you have any contact with the father?"

"Uh, that's complicated, we haven't spoken in over a month," Casey said. "We broke up over spring break because our lives were going in completely different directions."

"Well, maybe this is the thing that will bring your lives back in one direction," Dr. Lawrence said. "I would suggest talking to him if at all possible. Is there anything else that might be a concern during your pregnancy that I should be aware of?"

"I had a cousin who died of pregnancy complications five years ago when she was fifteen," Casey said hesitantly. "It was terrible and completely unexpected; internal bleeding they couldn't stop soon enough. It may have been somewhat stress-related."

"That's awful, I'm sorry to hear about your cousin," Dr. Lawrence said sympathetically. "It's important to note family history like that, though, so I can be sure to track your pregnancy extra carefully. Here are some pamphlets with some information you'll need to know to have a successful pregnancy." She handed Casey some papers. "You can make your next checkup appointment for about four weeks from now, and if anything comes up between now and then, do not hesitate to call me."

"Thank you again, doctor," Casey said, and she and Ashleigh exited the building after Casey made her next appointment.

"How are you feeling?" Ashleigh asked Casey as they made their way to her car.

"I honestly am not sure, Ash," Casey replied. "A part of me is still in shock, yet another part of me is starting to accept what's happening. A part of me wants to talk to Cappie again, but another part says no, this will just ruin his life and maybe I shouldn't tell him. A part of me says that this is getting in the way of me going to law school, but another part says that maybe this is the way of telling me that maybe I'm not ready for law school yet."

"It's perfectly normal to have mixed feelings," Ashleigh said. "As for Cappie, you really should tell him before someone else, namely Rusty, tells him first. The main reason you've been avoiding him is because you think your lives are going in two completely different directions and not seeing him might help you start to accept that. But I think maybe Dr. Lawrence was right; this may be the way of getting your lives back in one direction."

"Maybe, I'll think about it," Casey said. "But I know I need to talk to Rusty and make sure he's not pissed enough at me that he'll run and tell Cappie first."


	6. Chapter 5

A/N: Here's another chapter. :) This one was the most difficult to write so far. It skips ahead to a few days after the previous chapter.

Casey decided not to bother Rusty until after finals were over because she knew he would not be willing to hold a serious conversation with polymer science on the brain, plus she had her own finals, the last ones of her college career, to cram for. Friday was the last day of exams. Rusty was walking down Greek Row that day, headed to his last final of the year, which was for retail marketing.

"Rusty, hey, wait up," Ashleigh called out to him as she walked out of ZBZ, seeing him walking past.

"Hey," Rusty replied when she caught up with him. "Ready for this test?"

"Totally," Ashleigh replied. "Even though I'm going to miss CRU like crazy, I'm glad to say that after this test, I'll be done with the schoolwork part of college forever. Anyway, I wanted to make sure you were okay after the other day. I am so sorry about what happened with your cousin."

"Thanks," Rusty said. "And yeah, I'll be fine. Casey's situation just brought up bad memories, that's all."

"I really think she should talk to Cappie soon," Ashleigh said. "You haven't said anything, have you?"

"No, but if she doesn't say something soon, I'm going to have to," Rusty replied. "After spring break, I thought the best thing for them was to avoid each other. I was really happy that Case got into law school and she shouldn't let anything get in the way of that. And I knew Cappie was not ready to graduate this year; he's majored in pretty much everything CRU has to offer, but doesn't have enough credits in a specific major to graduate. So I went along with it when they made me their go-between and helped them stay out of each other's way. And it seemed to work for about the last few weeks or so, but now this changes things. She has to face this and tell him before gossip spreads and this whole thing blows up."

"You're right," Ashleigh said, as they arrived at the classroom for their exam. The teacher handed them their exams and they were told to get started. "I mentioned it to her, and I hope she talks to him soon," Ashleigh finished and they sat down to begin their tests. A little over an hour later, Rusty had finished his test and began walking back toward Kappa Tau. Casey was headed toward the campus bookstore to sell some books back when she saw Rusty walking in her direction.

"Rusty, hey, wow you look exhausted," Casey said to him as he approached. "Exams that tough?"

"Gee thanks," Rusty replied sarcastically. "And yeah, but I'm done now." He continued walking like he didn't want to continue a conversation with her, but Casey stopped him.

"Wait," she said.

"What?" Rusty shot back. "I've got to help get stuff ready for the KT party tonight."

"That can wait," Casey said. "Sit," she commanded as if he were a disobedient puppy. They both sat down on a nearby bench. "I'm sorry that me being pregnant reminds you so much of what happened with Angela. And I should have said this sooner, but I'm really sorry for how I acted back then. It was a difficult time for the family, especially for you and Aunt Pam, and I just up and left. I'm such a terrible person, and looking back, I feel so bad."

"Case, you're not a terrible person," Rusty said. "My fifteen-year-old self thought you were, but things have changed so much in the past five years; well more so in the past two. When I came to CRU, I just wanted to get away from home and make a fresh start, and I wanted to forgive you and be a part of your life. Everyone deals with situations in their own way, and I couldn't stay mad at you for the way you dealt with things. I'm not mad at you anymore about how you acted, if that's what you thought. I just can't believe this would happen to you of all people; Mom's always been on your back about being careful and you've always told her you were, and you were all set on going to law school this fall, now what?"

"I really don't know what's going to happen next," Casey replied with a sigh. "Obviously I can't go off to DC now, where no one I know will be. I've been thinking, maybe I'm really not ready to dive head first into law school when I've been so unsure about my future the past few years. Maybe this is karma telling me I'm not ready."

"So you're sounding like you're okay with being pregnant," Rusty said, confused.

"I wouldn't call myself okay with it," Casey said. "But I've accepted that it happened and I'm going through with the pregnancy. I'm handling it maturely, as Dr. Lawrence said. I'm even going to talk to Cappie soon and tell him, so please don't say anything before I do."

"As long as you promise to tell him soon, I won't say anything," Rusty said. "Sorry if it seemed like I was mad at you the past few days; I'm glad you're being mature about this, and I'm here for you just so you know."

"Thanks Rus, and yeah I promise I will," Casey said. "I'll let you get back to KT, I've gotta drop these books off then get back to ZBZ. I'll see you later."

"See you later, Case," Rusty said.

Rusty arrived at Kappa Tau where he saw some brothers cleaning various parts of the house. Beaver was sitting on the couch, watching some of the new actives clean the living room. Beaver saw Rusty enter and walked over to him.

"Spitter, your girlfriend won't shut up," Beaver said, exasperated. "She's been here for over an hour, hollering that you need to check your e-mail. She kept following me around the house, like you were going to pop out from behind me all of a sudden, and she wouldn't stop blabbering."

"Sorry," Rusty said. "I really don't know what's gotten into her lately. Where is she now?"

"I paid her to help some of the brothers with a beer run," Beaver said. Just then the front door opened and Dana came in carrying some beer, with some Kappa Taus behind her also carrying beer.

"Rusty!" Dana called, setting the beer down and running over to him. "Did you check your e-mail yet?"

"Not yet, I just got out of a test about an hour ago and came here," Rusty said. He assumed Professor Hastings must have sent out something regarding the research program, and that was why Dana was so wound up. Cappie walked by just then. "Hey Cap, can I borrow your computer for a sec?" he asked.

"Yes, please," Cappie said, sounding annoyed by Dana as well. "Then we need your help cleaning the backyard." Rusty and Dana went up to Cappie's room and Rusty got on his computer.

"I got in the program and so did Dale and Hannah," Dana said excitedly as Rusty logged onto the Internet.

"Well that makes four of us," Rusty said with a smile as he opened up his e-mail from Professor Hastings. "I'm in too!"

"Awesome!" Dana said and threw her arms around him. "This is going to be an amazing summer!"

"Totally!" Rusty replied. "Speaking of which, we've got a party to celebrate the beginning of such a summer in three hours, and I've got preparation duties."

"Think Beaver will pay me again if I stick around and help?" Dana asked.

"You know what, I think he's fresh out of cash," Rusty replied. "Why don't you call your family and tell them the good news, and I'll see you back here at the party. Aren't you supposed to meet Ashleigh at ZBZ so she can introduce you to the girls?"

"Yeah, I'll get over there, see you later!" she said. As she headed out the door, she dialed her mom on her cell phone. "Mom, mom, guess what?" Rusty, Cappie, and Beaver heard her yell from the KT living room.

"What was all the excitement about?" Beaver asked Rusty.

"Me, her, and Dale all got into the research program for summer," Rusty said.

"Way to go, Spitter," Cappie said proudly.

"And I'm glad you got Dana to leave," Beaver said. "If I didn't send her on that beer run, I swear she would have exploded."

"Do you remember last year when I was dating Rebecca, she was driving you up the wall and we abolished the guy code?" Cappie asked Rusty, as the three walked out toward the KT backyard.

"Yeah, and I know what you're trying to say; she's driving everyone at Kappa Tau insane," Rusty said.

"More than just insane, Spitter,' Beaver said. "She's gone berserk! I think you're dating an escaped mental patient. Yesterday she came over when I was sleeping on the couch and she smacked me on the leg, woke me up and asked where you were. I mumbled that you weren't here, and then she went on some rant about why did Alexander Graham Bell invent the telephone if no one ever answers their phone, or something like that."

"I was in a test yesterday afternoon, of course I didn't have my phone on," Rusty said. "Guys, I promise I'll talk to her tonight."

"Yes, for the sake and sanity of all of Kappa Tau, please talk to this girl," another Kappa Tau active, who was cleaning the porch, interrupted. "I swear I saw her creeping at my window the other night, probably looking for you. She's a stalker I tell you."

"I'll fix this, one way or another," Rusty promised. "I could deal with it when she was a bit clingy with me, but she can't keep doing this to you guys." The Dana talk stopped, and the group got started cleaning the backyard and discussing the party that was going to get under way in a few short hours.

A/N: Finals are over, Dana needs to be locked up in the insane asylum, and Casey is set to talk to Cappie. Next chapter will include the party. Review please. :)


	7. Chapter 6

"Can you believe this?" Ashleigh asked Casey as they walked down Greek Row toward the Kappa Tau house. "Our last official college party. How sad, we're one week away from graduating and becoming old people."

"Yeah, our last party and I can't drink any alcohol," Casey replied sadly. "Why did I let you talk me into coming? I wasn't planning to talk to Cappie until after the party, anyway. No sense in spoiling the evening for both of us."

"Right, I forgot about the not drinking thing, sorry," Ashleigh said. "Tell you what, you're my best friend and I promised I'd be there for you, so I'll be sober right along with you. As for Cappie, we went over that, if you run into him you're just going to tell him you'd like to talk to him tomorrow, after the party."

"Thanks for the concern, Ash," Casey said with a small smile. "But we're already late getting there because of me, and you deserve to have fun. I'll just stay long enough to say hi to some people, and then say I'm not feeling well and go back to the house to watch a movie or something."

"Are you sure, Case?" Ashleigh asked. "As much as I'm excited about this party, you're more important and I'll go back with you if you want. We could make our own party, with movies and snacks."

"You're such a good friend," Casey said. "But I'll be fine, you have fun, I mean it." Casey and Ashleigh arrived at Kappa Tau and the party was well under way.

"Hey party people," Rebecca said as she came over to Casey and Ashleigh, looking rather tipsy already, with Evan in tow.

"Hey Bex," Casey and Ashleigh said.

"Evan? You're at a Kappa Tau party?" Casey asked, confused. "Why isn't Omega Chi doing their own end of the year party this year?"

"Well since Calvin's the new president, and he's actually on friendly terms with the KTs, he got Cappie to agree to combining both parties into one this year," Evan said. "I'd rather my last college party not be at Kappa Tau, but it was either here or nothing."

"C'mon guys, let's get some drinks," Rebecca said to Casey and Ashleigh and dragged them toward the alcohol.

"Call me a party pooper, but I can't drink tonight," Casey said. "I'm not feeling well; I just came to make an appearance then I'm heading back to the house."

"Are you sure you don't have the flu or something?" Rebecca asked. "You've been sick on and off all week." Then, the wheels in Rebecca's brain turned. "Oh my God, are you pregnant?"

"You can't tell anyone!" Casey demanded. "Only Ash and Rusty know. And now you."

"My lips are sealed," Rebecca said. "But seriously, Case, wow. I never thought you'd be the first ZBZ since 2000 to get pregnant while still being an active."

"That makes me feel so much better, Bex that I'm the first one in ten years," Casey said sarcastically.

"I didn't mean it like that, Case," Rebecca said. "I'm just surprised is all. I mean, there's at least one Tri Pi every year that gets pregnant, but it doesn't happen at ZBZ very often."

"Okay Bex," Ashleigh interrupted. "I think enough's been said here; we'll talk more when alcohol's not causing you to compare Casey to Tri Pi. C'mon Case, let's go and um…" Ashleigh looked around the KT backyard and spotted Calvin and Rusty. "Talk to Calvin and Rusty." Ashleigh dragged Casey away from Rebecca.

"Hey you guys," Calvin and Rusty greeted when Casey and Ashleigh approached.

"Hey," they replied.

"How's the party so far?" Calvin asked.

"We just got here, all we've done so far is talk to a tipsy Rebecca," Ashleigh said. "But it looks great; I'm sensing a peace between Omega Chi and Kappa Tau next year."

"It's looking like it," Rusty said with a smile. "With Evan out, Evan vs. Cappie or good vs. Evan won't be an issue anymore. Cappie, Calvin, and I were talking about some great ideas for next year."

"Cappie? Planning for next year before next year even starts?" Casey asked surprised.

"Yeah," Rusty replied. "He's grown up more than you think over the last month." Ashleigh and Calvin went to get drinks and Rusty continued talking to Casey, "He's decided on graduating next year, with a major."

"Seriously?" Casey asked. "That's great that he's limiting himself to only doing a fifth year. What's his major?"

"Talk to him," Rusty replied. "I'm sure he'll want to tell you himself. I told him earlier you wanted to talk to him, just as a forewarning, and he wants to see you."

"Really?" Casey asked. "And I'm going to, tomorrow, I promise; I just want to wait til after the party. Speaking of which, I'm probably just going to head back to the house. I'm not feeling that great tonight, which was why Ash and I were late getting here, so I'll just come by tomorrow."

"Get some rest," Rusty said. "I'll be sure and have a drink for you."

"Thanks," Casey said with a laugh. "See ya tomorrow." Casey went to tell Ashleigh she was leaving, and Dana ran up to Rusty.

"I got a call from a 'Laura' saying a girl named Betsy needs to be taken home," Dana said to Rusty. "I have absolutely no idea who that is."

"That would be the girl over there, talking to the tree," Rusty said as he spotted the drunken girl and pointed her out to Dana. A summer trip back to rehab was probably going to be in store for Betsy.

"Wow, she reminds me of my sister," Dana said. "She'd always talk to inanimate objects when she was drunk, and she claimed they talked back."

"Hey, after you take Betsy back, can we talk?" Rusty asked.

"Absolutely," Dana said. "What's up?"

"I'll tell you when you get back," Rusty said.

"Okay then, I'll get Betsy then race back here," Dana said. She went over, grabbed Betsy, and finally they made their way out of the Kappa Tau party. As Dana began walking down Greek Row, hanging onto Betsy and dragging her, Casey came out of Kappa Tau close behind them.

"Casey!" Dana called. "Can you take this one? I have to get back inside."

"Is there another sister there that needs to go home?" Casey asked.

"No, I just need to get back there, so can you take her?" Dana asked. "Kay thanks, I'll get the next one." Before Casey could even reply, Dana shoved Betsy at her and ran back to Kappa Tau. She went out back and found Rusty.

"I'm back, what's up?" Dana asked him.

"That was quick, how'd you get her home so fast?" Rusty asked.

"I gave her to Casey because she was going toward the house, too," Dana replied.

"Casey was going home because she's not feeling good," Rusty said. "You shouldn't have given Betsy to her."

"She's not feeling good because she's pregnant," Dana said.

"Wait, how'd you know that!" Rusty demanded.

"I was there with you the day she thought she was, we overheard her in her room, remember?" Dana said.

"Right, and please don't say anything to anyone else," Rusty said. "But that's not the point; you agreed to be sober sister and yet you passed Betsy on to Casey."

"I only agreed to do it because you said you had to help out at the house," Dana said. "Well, I haven't seen you 'helping out' much tonight. I came here to get one girl earlier before Betsy, and you were just partying with your friends."

"Well, this is a party," Rusty said, getting annoyed. "And I just wanted to have some time with my friends, so I thought you being sober sister would give you something to do throughout the night."

"You thought I couldn't find something to do on my own?" Dana asked, growing angry. "And I really don't think your friends like me very much."

"They don't like you because you're driving them crazy," Rusty admitted. "You show up at the house numerous times a day, even during naptime and meetings, looking for me, and you guilt trip me when I want to spend time with them."

"Is it a crime to want to spend time with my boyfriend?" Dana demanded. "So basically what you're saying is you're choosing your friends over me."

"I didn't want to make that choice," Rusty said. "But based on the way you've been acting lately, I have to side with them."

"The way I've been acting?" Dana scoffed. "What are you, my dad? How do you think I've been acting?"

"To be honest, clingy, and a bit crazy," Rusty said. "I'm not trying to be mean, but honestly, my brothers have been complaining about your behavior, and I can't say I disagree with them."

"Well, I'm not going to be scolded like a five-year-old anymore about my so-called 'bad behavior', so I'll tell you what!" Dana yelled angrily. "Since I'm so clingy and crazy, you can be done with me, go frolic with your friends, and I'll find someone who actually wants to be with me!"

"What?" Rusty asked. "I didn't mean I wanted to break up, I just meant I need a little more space."

"Well I'm giving you plenty of space!" Dana yelled. "Goodbye Rusty, and find yourself a new sober sister for tonight!" Dana stormed out of Kappa Tau, and Rusty went to find Ashleigh to explain the situation. Ashleigh said she would find a new active that still looked sober and have her do the job. After talking to Ashleigh, Rusty found Cappie and Beaver and walked over to them.

"Spitter, I saw you talking to Dana, how'd it go?" Cappie asked him. Rusty didn't reply right away; instead, he grabbed the beer Cappie was holding, and drank the remainder of it in one gulp.

"That bad, huh?" Beaver asked.

"I told her that what she'd been doing was bothering me and that I needed some space, and the conversation ended with her saying I was scolding her like a little kid and then her breaking up with me," Rusty said.

"I'm sorry it didn't end well," Cappie said. "Honestly, though, I didn't think she was right for you from the start."

"Well you did think she was a Girl Scout the first time you met her," Rusty replied. "Anyway, let's not talk about her anymore. I need drinks, and lots of them."

"That we can do, my friend," Cappie said, and Cappie, Rusty, and Beaver made their way toward the alcohol.

A/N: And another chapter. :) I believe Cappie and Casey will talk in the next one, so stay tuned!


	8. Chapter 7

Casey woke up the next morning feeling much more rested, and surprisingly, didn't feel any morning sickness. She looked over at Ashleigh's bed and saw that she was passed out on top of her covers; she thought there was no use in waking her yet, as she was probably feeling hungover from last night. Casey got out of bed and went to the shower, and by the time she got back, it was almost 11 AM and Ashleigh was stirring.

"Morning, Case," she mumbled. "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good today, I got a lot of sleep," Casey said. "But I should be asking you that question."

"I've got a horrible headache, but other than that, I'm good," Ashleigh said, sitting up. "By the way, Rusty and Dana broke up last night."

"Really?" Casey asked. "I still think that girl has issues; last night she practically threw Betsy at me and ran back to Kappa Tau, so I had to take Betsy home when I felt like I was going to puke. But I should go check in on Rusty to see how he's doing. You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna lay here for a bit, to try to sleep off this headache," Ashleigh said.

"Okay, good luck with that, I'll see you later," Casey said, and set off for Kappa Tau. Casey walked in the house quietly when she got there, and it looked like a bomb had gone off; people were passed out all over the house, alcohol bottles and cups were strewn everywhere, and it reeked of vomit that somebody would need to clean up. She walked around downstairs, but couldn't find her brother anywhere. She was surprised, though, when a familiar face walked out of the kitchen.

"Casey!" Dale said as he walked out, or rather stumbled out, of the kitchen. "What a nice surprise to see you here. You look pretty."

"Uh thanks Dale," Casey said surprised. "What are you doing here? You look, um, drunk."

"Yeahhh," Dale replied, almost tripping over his own feet. "Had a little too much cough medicine last night. I'm going home now, uh, which way's home?"

"You're in no condition to walk home by yourself," Casey said, noticing he had stumbled over his feet and the various objects in the room numerous times already. "Just lay down; I'm going to find Rusty then I'll walk with you both back to the apartment."

"A bunch of guys are upstairs passed out dead," Dale said.

"Dead?" Casey said alarmed.

"Well not really, but they look it," Dale said. Casey walked up the stairs quietly and saw more people passed out, but still no sign of Rusty. She walked by Cappie's room, which was where she found Rusty, Cappie, and Beaver. Cappie was sleeping under his covers, Beaver was next to him on top of the covers, and Rusty was at the foot of the bed, lying sideways. Bottles of beer and red cups were all over the room. Casey went over to Rusty and gently poked him, being careful not to wake the others.

"Hey Russ, wake up," Casey whispered.

"Mom, it's Saturday," Rusty mumbled without moving. "I don't have to go to school." Yep, he was obviously drunk.

"It's me, Casey," Casey said.

"Casey? What are you doing home?" Rusty mumbled, still not stirring.

"I'm not home, and neither are you," Casey said. "We're at college, c'mon, wake up." She shook him lightly and he finally started to come to.

"Damn," Rusty said as he sat up. "Last night, the party…oh man I feel like I'm gonna puke." He sprang up and ran to the bathroom. Casey followed him out, closing the door behind her. Rusty came out of the bathroom a minute later, and he and Casey took a seat against the wall.

"Feel better now?" Casey asked.

"No," Rusty said. "I don't feel the urge to hurl anymore, but I've got a pounding headache and I have no idea what the hell happened last night."

"I'm sorry you and Dana broke up," Casey said. "I'm guessing you remember that."

"Damn, yes," Rusty said. "That's what all this was about. She broke up with me, then I went to find Cappie and Beaver, and they started feeding me beer and vodka, and well, I don't know the rest or how I even ended up upstairs. Relationships suck, seriously! Just when you think things are going right, they turn left and everything goes wrong. I should just accept the fact that I'm never gonna have a decent relationship, buy a cat, and be done with it."

"One, you're allergic to cats," Casey began. "And two, you've only been in a total of three relationships in your life. I'm going to blame this on the fact that you're hungover and delirious right now. Seriously Russ, don't beat yourself up over this. You're twenty years old, you've got a lot going for you, and you've got your whole life ahead of you. You just haven't found the right person yet, and that takes time. If you're forty and we're still having this conversation, then we'll talk 'LoveMatch dot com.'"

Rusty chuckled slightly at that. "Thanks, Case," he said. "But now all I really feel like doing is crawling into a hole and sleeping forever."

"C'mon, I'll walk you back to the apartment," Casey said, getting up. "Dale's here, too; I told him I'd find you and walk you both back."

"He's taken a walk on the wild side ever since spring break," Rusty said as him and Casey descended the stairs.

"Yeah, I never knew he had it in him," Casey said. They fetched and woke up a sleeping Dale, and Casey managed to help both guys back to their apartment.

"Thanks for the walk, Casey," Dale said with a smile as the three walked in the door. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to sleep and hopefully I'll remember this moment when I wake up."

"Thanks again for coming over, Case," Rusty said as Dale walked away.

"No problem, I've got your back," Casey said with a smile. "Get some rest, let's get dinner later, my treat, what do you say?"

"Sure, sounds great, I'll see you later," Rusty said and walked off to his room. Casey left the apartment and headed back to ZBZ, where Ashleigh was awake and using her laptop in their room.

"Hey Case, how's Rusty?" Ashleigh asked as Casey walked in.

"Let's just say he had more than his fair share last night," Casey said. "I took him home and he's going back to sleep." Casey's phone beeped just then, and she opened it up to reveal a text from…Cappie?

'_Hey, this might be weird considering we haven't seen each other in over a month, but Rusty said you wanted to talk, and I'd really like to see you too. Speaking of Rusty, have you seen him? He disappeared this morning.'_

"Ash, it's a text from Cappie," Casey said.

"What did he say?" Ashleigh asked. Casey showed her the message. "Well what are you waiting for; you have to get over there! You can do this."

"I know, I can't put it off any longer," Casey said. She sent a message back to him.

'_I took Rusty home. And yeah, I have something important I need to tell you. Can I come over now?'_

He typed back a few seconds later. _'Yeah, come over now, you've got me worried. I'll be upstairs; people are awake now, just come on up.'_

"Kay Ash, I'm going over," Casey said.

"Good luck, and don't be nervous, I'm sure everything will be fine," Ashleigh said. Casey set off for Kappa Tau for the second time that day. When she arrived at the house this time, most everyone was awake and some of the new actives were cleaning up the mess from the party. Casey walked upstairs and knocked on Cappie's door.

"Come in," he called, and Casey stepped inside.

"Case, hey, it's really good to see you," Cappie said with a smile.

"It's really good to see you, too," Casey said. "I'm really sorry about this past month; I shouldn't have been avoiding you."

"No, you have nothing to apologize for," Cappie said. "I was the jerk; I broke up with you, on your birthday no less, and ever since about thirty seconds after we broke up, I've felt like the biggest idiot in the world. I wanted to avoid you because I had no idea what to say to make up for what I did to you; I thought you'd never want to talk to me again."

"At first I didn't," Casey said. "But then I realized that the whole thing was my fault. I was the one trying to change you, to make you leave CRU, and I wouldn't let it rest. Who could blame you for getting sick of my nagging?"

"It was not your fault, it was mine," Cappie said. "And I wouldn't admit it then, but your nagging was just what I needed; I never got it from my parents growing up. I pretty much did whatever I wanted when I was a kid, with the exception of being forced to move every time my parents wanted to. I've got a plan, Case, thanks to you. And my Uncle Pete."

"That's great!" Casey said. "But who's Uncle Pete, and how does he fall into your plan?"

"My Uncle Pete lives in Ohio and owns a hotel business he's been running for over thirty years," Cappie said. "He's opening a new location right here in Cyprus the first of the year, and he said if I get a degree in business, then I could help run it and eventually take it over myself. So that's what I'm doing, and I found out I have enough credits to graduate this coming December."

"I'm really proud of you," Casey said with a smile. "This must be something you really want to do if it made you want to graduate."

"As a kid I always thought it would be cool to run my own business, though then I was thinking more like an adult video store," Cappie said with a laugh. "But a hotel doesn't sound bad; I'm sure I could bring in some pretty awesome parties. And it's not like I won't be around; I'll still get to visit Kappa Tau a lot, just like Beaver cause he's graduating but staying in Cyprus."

"So who's the lucky duck that's taking over the presidency?" Casey asked.

"Well, nothing's official yet, but let's just say I have no doubt that Kappa Tau will be in good hands after I'm gone," Cappie said. "Anyway, enough about me; you came here because you had some news, what is it?" Casey had gotten caught up in Cappie's plans that she almost forgot the reason she'd come over in the first place. With Cappie excited about his new plan, Casey felt bad that she was about to rain on his parade, well, more like cause a complete flash flood on his parade. But she had to tell him, and it was either now or never.

"There's no easy way to tell you this, and I hate to bring this news on you now, but…," Casey trailed off.

"You can tell me, Case," Cappie said. "It obviously sounds important."

"I'm pregnant," Casey blurted out. Cappie stared at her for a minute in shock, speechless, before he finally spoke.

"Wow, uh, not what I was expecting," he said. "Are you sure you are? And I'm guessing you're telling me because it's mine."

"Yes, I went to the doctor's this week," Casey said. "And yes, it's yours." Cappie stood speechless for a second time, and then he finally spoke again.

"I can usually find something to say in awkward situations, but now I really don't know what to say," Cappie said. "I guess I'll say what I think you want me to say, which is that I'll be there for you through this, and I will, even though this is the last thing I want to deal with at twenty-two. Even though we're not together anymore, I still want to try to be friends."

"Thanks Cap, because I really need your support on this," Casey said with a smile. "And I want to be friends, too. With both of us trying to figure out our lives, it's best if we just stayed friends right now, and you sound like you'd agree with that. For now, we're just two friends who happen to be having a baby together, and we'll see where that takes us from there."

"What is this, _Secret Life of the American Teenager_?" Cappie asked with a chuckle.

"Secret Life, College Edition I suppose," Casey said with a laugh. She remembered when she made him watch that show with her when they were together. "I'm just glad I got this off my chest and I know you're on my side. I don't even want to think about the possible horror of telling my parents that will come later."

"Let's take it one step at a time," Cappie said. "You won't be seeing your parents for a while, anyway. Does anyone else know besides me?"

"I told Ashleigh and she took me to the doctor's, and then Rusty overheard us and found out, and Rebecca found out at the party last night," Casey said. "So just the three of them and you, and I really don't want anyone else to know right now."

"They don't have to," Cappie said. "We've got time to decide how and when to tell our parents and everyone else. Want to go grab some lunch now and talk some more?"

"Sure, after all this, I'm starving," Casey replied, and they walked out of Kappa Tau and down Greek Row.

A/N: Longest chapter so far and a bit difficult to write; let me know what you think! :) I'm hoping to get another one up before classes start, but if not I'm still planning on working on this when school starts, updates might not be as periodic though.


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